Anyone who has ever tried to change the world is familiar with this sentiment. For those of us working in global health, it serves as an inspiring reminder that when faced with a seemingly insurmountable goal, teamwork is ultimately more successful than even the most heroic individual effort.
Policymakers often talk about tackling problems like endemic disease in a holistic way, integrating medical, educational and social resources into a combined effort. The desire for change may be there, but it requires thoughtful collaboration to make it happen. Policy makers can learn from the teachers, health workers, and volunteers, who work directly with the communities and must collaborate to overcome the challenges imposed by scarce resources.
New reading list to get your Thursday started off right! Today we’re reading about Johnson & Johnson’s newly announced donation of $200 million for the launch of a five-year women and children program, new technological advances in water quality improvement, the kickoff of world water week, a short overview of Ascaris, and how life-saving a cell phone can be for the poorest communities. Take a look:
Alanna Shaikh gave us a lesson on the importance of sound governance structures for successful NTD programs
A new editorial in PLoS NTDs called for emerging market economies to join the US, UK, and Japan as partners in neglected tropical disease (NTD) control efforts
Today we are celebrating World Humanitarian Day on End the Neglect! More than ever, the humanitarian community has been able to respond quickly to crises throughout the world, and provide relief in a timely fashion. Much of this success can be attributed to the selfless hard work and dedication from countless numbers of volunteers and aid workers. Today we recognize each and every one of these individuals and their tireless work.
In addition to this recognition, World Humanitarian Day is also a reminder that such tireless work is not nearly complete. The recent floods in Pakistan has affected millions of Pakistanis, causing displacement of individuals and an environment conducive to the spread of water-borne diseases. Aid remains to be unstable as food, clean water, and other relief supplies have been slow to reach victims. In the long-term, damages from the flooding pose to be a great threat to the country’s economy, and food and political security. It is at this point in time when humanitarian work is needed most.
In the world of NTDs, the high prevalence of schistosomiasis amongst African countries is a humanitarian crisis within the continent. As mentioned in a previous post, Africa is home to many who suffer from schistosomiasis, a disease affecting children, adolescents, and young adults. Symptoms include anemia, inflammation, and disability. Mass distribution of the drug Praziquantel is the only commercially available treatment for the disease, however, provision of the drug to Africa has been minimal. Authors Peter Hotez, Dirk Engels, Alan Fenwick and Lorenzo Savioli published an editorial in the August 13 edition of The Lancet calling for more Praziquantel, a drug that costs a few cents per pill, to reduce the schistosomiasis burden in a continent where individuals are most affected.
Observe World Humanitarian Day today! Visit the Global Network website and find out how you can help relieve the crisis of NTDs!
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The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases is a major advocacy and resource mobilization initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute dedicated to raising the awareness, political will, and funding necessary to control and eliminate the most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)--a group of disabling, disfiguring, and deadly diseases affecting more than 1.4 billion people worldwide living on less than $1.25 a day.
RT @IAMAT_Travel: Great info on a travel health risk for many. RT @EpiDoctor: Lymphatic filariasis at Infection Landscapes: http://t.co/ ... 57 mins ago
